Route 30/Dugan Road changes laid out for Sugar Grove officials
For drivers tired of waiting to make a left turn south off Route 30 on to Dugan Road, relief might come next year.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is planning what it calls an "advanced improvement" - akin to a patch - while designing permanent solutions for expected future traffic on Route 30 from just west of Dugan to just west of Route 47.
The work next spring should cut accidents and current congestion, said Jack Melhuish, a project engineer for H.R. Green, which is designing the work. He spoke to the village board Tuesday.
Instead of one turn lane, there will be two long left-turn lanes on westbound Route 30. "You should see a substantial reduction in the backup for that left-turn movement," particularly during the evening rush hour, he said.
On northbound Dugan, there will be a left-turn lane, a right-turn lane, and a right-turn/through lane.
A left-turn lane will be added on eastbound Route 30.
Shoulders on Route 30 will be widened and paved, east to Municipal Drive. That way they can be driven on when traffic is diverted due to a crash, or when there is a large event at the Aurora Municipal Airport or nearby Rich Harvest Farms golf club.
Dugan will have to be closed for about 20 days for some of the work, Melhuish said. The state will try to close it at the same time the road is closed to install a roundabout at the new intersection of Dugan, Granart Road and Bucktail Lane.
Bigger drainage culverts will also be installed under Route 30, he said.
Traffic signal patterns at Dugan and Route 30 will change, he said. Instead of having one leg of the intersection go at a time, lights will allow east-west traffic at one time and north-south traffic at the other.
"That will be interesting," Sugar Grove Trustee Mari Melson Johnson said, noting drivers will not be used to that.
Johnson also asked if the railroad crossing on Dugan will be improved. "Right now going over the tracks people are practically stopping," she said. "I don't know how many emergency repairs they have done at that crossing - five or six - because the rails keep popping up."
Melhuish said the track pads will be widened, but he did not know if the rails would be replaced.
The state still has to get a right-of-way agreement worked out with the railroad, Melhuish said. But he expects that to come soon.
"The message was sent very clearly: This has to be built in 2015," Melhuish said. It is estimated to cost about $6.8 million for construction, according to an IDOT report on upcoming road projects in the state 25th Senate district.
Village President Sean Michels agreed.
"We have a big golf event in 2016 (the LPGA's International Crown) and we want to make sure we are ready for it," Michels said.